Ecotones as a Measure of Deer Habitat Quality in Central Ontario
- 1 December 1982
- journal article
- research article
- Published by JSTOR in Journal of Applied Ecology
- Vol. 19 (3) , 751-758
- https://doi.org/10.2307/2403279
Abstract
The importance of ecotonal or edge environments to white-tailed deer (O. virginianus) was assessed by pellet group counts. The edge and non-edge habitats were characterized using cluster analysis. The latter were relatively homogeneous units dominated by Acer saccharum in the upland sites and Abies balsamea in the lowland areas. Edge areas had significantly more vegetative species. Deer densities were highest at 2 sites close to a traditional wintering area and pellet group counts were significantly higher for edge vs. non-edge samples at these sites. Deer habitat can be evaluated using a quantifiable measure of edge as a habitat variable. The use of edge by deer may be more pronounced in areas with higher deer densities. The scale for resolution of habitat quality based on edge probably should be based on a 10 km2 grid as opposed to the 1 km2 grid used.This publication has 7 references indexed in Scilit:
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